Joyetech EVIO Pod kit
Si takes a look at the Joyetech EVIO Pod Kit, fantastic flavour and vape quality but not without its issues
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by Si Davies
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Supplied by TECC for review
https://www.theelectroniccigarette.co.uk/joyetech-evio-pod-kit
£17.99 including 2 FREE E-liquids
You may notice the Christmas background, due to a bit of a snag I had to hold off and finish off the review long after I photographed it. The new EVIO Pod Kit might look pretty standard but the vape quality is far from it, it could possibly be the best MTL pod vape I’ve experienced, however there is a bit of a flaw that I will cover when it came to performance.
- 960mAh Battery
- Sliding Top-Fill Pod
- USB-C Charging
- 2ml Eliquid Capacity
- 0.8ohm Mesh Pod
- Dual Airflow Option
- Tri-colour Status LED
- Auto-Draw Activation
Aside from the large battery capacity, the other standout feature is the sliding top-fill of the pod which is possibly the easiest filling I have experienced in a pod.
Unboxing
Joyetech have clearly aimed at making the EVIO Pod as a basic starter kit so don’t expect too much in the bundle. The outer box displays the device on the front and specifications on the back, the inner box slides out to reveal the device held in foam and a side box holding the ‘accessories’, I say this loosely as all you get is a charging cable.
So all you get is the EVIO Pod complete with a 0.8ohm pod, a charging cable and the documentation. The manual is pretty decent and well-illustrated but you shouldn’t really need it as it is pretty intuitive. Sadly there’s no spare pod (the good news is that the included pod lasts ages).
First Impressions and Overview
I must admit I wasn’t impressed in the slightest with the unboxing and first impressions, it all felt sparse and basic, I had to remind myself that it is a starter kit and reset my expectations to reflect this. I remember the days when I tried to quit smoking and this kit pissed all over my first few vapes.
The EVIO Pod looks very familiar, it bugged me what it looked like, it looks remarkably like the Eleaf IORE Prime https://www.planetofthevapes.co.uk/reviews/pod-systems/eleaf-iore-prime-kit.html but there is no airflow control slider, I’m pretty sure there was a VooPoo pod that looked identical too, that’s not a bad thing as the shape is very compact and comfortable.
Every single edge has been contoured, there isn’t a hard edge anywhere and it feels comfortable in your hand or pocket. Styling wise, there’s not much going on, the subtle two-tone pattern on the front and rear looks nice as you rotate it in the light but doesn’t really stand out unless you intentionally look for it.
The charging port is USB-C and is located at the base, the included cable is short but very high quality which makes it ideal for portable power-bank charging.
The branding is very discreet but the ‘UKCA’ marking is plain ugly and ruins the looks somewhat, there is an ‘L’ and ‘H’ marked on the sides which is for the airflow options (Low/High).
The pod is a friction fit which is reasonably easy to pull out or press back in, it requires a deliberate action which makes it very secure to stay in place, the fit is also tight enough to give it an effective airflow seal.
The pod is the highlight of this kit, it is great quality and has been well thought out, the wicking ports are nice and low which helps it keep well saturated, but it’s the sliding top-fill that stands out. Joyetech have got this just right as the resistance is quite stiff which helps avoid it accidentally sliding open in your bag or pocket, but it’s not too stiff when it comes to refilling.
The airflow control is a simple two-way rotate the pod method, you can see the airflow channel on the base of the pod, line this up with either ‘L’ for Low (tighter) or ‘H’ for High (looser), both options suit MTL vaping but you can just about get a tight RDL draw on ‘H’.
The slide to fill top means that you can fill the pod while it’s fitted into the device, but the narrow clear window makes it a little tricky to see the level, ironically I found it easier to remove the pod to fill it up and avoid over-filling.
I filled it up with some of the very best nic-salts out there, the new ELFLIQ range (I seriously LOVE this stuff!) https://www.planetofthevapes.co.uk/reviews/e-liquids/elf-bar-elfliq-e-liquid.html
Not only is this e-liquid delicious, but it’s ideal to test out coils and pods due to the extra sweetness which can kill off inferior coils in no time.
Performance
Everything so far was pretty average, then boom! The flavour hit like a train, it was absolutely top-draw, and it needed no break-in time as it instantly delivered a very satisfying vape right off the bat, the warmth was just right and never got too hot, the airflow control satisfied my fussy MTL needs, I found ‘L’ just tight enough for me but I would also be happy to vape it on ‘H’.
This boring looking vape was delivering a very ‘Special’ vape indeed (I found a way to sneak in a Specials thread, Terry Hall was my childhood hero, RIP Terry). For a vape quality to stand out as special is quite tough these days as there are so many kits that just deliver and few manage to stand out, this does!
Sadly I hit a snag (which is the reason for the review delay); there are leaking issues which mostly happen during filling the pod. All too often I would find that after filling it up then it would dump a load of e-liquid through the base airflow hole. I didn’t notice this issue on the first one and it ended up leaking down the auto-draw air hole and knackered the electronics, a replacement was sent and I was more vigilant this time and took to filling it up outside of the battery section, it still leaked but I could keep it outside rather than let the excess into the device.
I occasionally had a small leak once fitted but I caught most of these early but I had no trust in the device and I was always monitoring it, this was really frustrating as the vape quality was so high.
I had never experienced leaking like this and I tried to investigate why it was behaving like this, my educated guess is that I think it is down to an airlock inside the pod during filling, they almost designed the pod too well as the silicone seal really fits well around the bottle tip which means there’s nowhere for the air to escape while it is replaced with e-liquid, the path of least resistance means it pushes it through the wicking, down the coil and out the airflow. I could be wrong but it’s the only thing that made sense to me, either way I couldn’t find a solution.
I tried the included pods and replacement pods but they all behaved the same way, it is such a shame as the EVIO Pod could have made it a bit of a benchmark for flavour.
Determined to persevere with it for the review period and see how long the pods last, I kept on top of the leaking issue. It was frustrating but still usable and I really enjoyed the actual vape, the pods themselves lasted ages and I was into 20ml before I started to notice the flavour dropping off.
It could be so SPECIAL, the flavour is pure MADNESS that I would SELECTER as my favourite had it not been for the TEARS OF A CLOWN leaking issue, BEATS me!
Pros
- Large 960mAh Battery
- Outstanding flavour
- Easy access slide top-fill (in theory)
- Rounded off shape makes it very comfortable
- Long lasting pods
- Ideal for sweetened e-liquids
Cons
- Leaking issues
Final Thoughts
The unfortunate leaking has to be a deal-breaker, I lived with it but a beginner would struggle and likely knacker the device without wiping its bottom constantly.
I’ve refrained from scoring, it would have rated at least a 9/10 if it hadn’t leaked. The good news is that Joyetech could potentially fix this with just a pod update, whether they do or not is unknown.
In the meantime there’s always the EVIO C2 option which is almost as good and doesn’t wet the bed.
https://www.theelectroniccigarette.co.uk/joyetech-evio-c2
Si Davies
Reviewer at POTVMy background is Engineering and Professional Photography. Mostly from POTV users knowledge I learned so much about pretty much all styles of vaping and equipment, Cloud Chasing, Squonking, Mouth To Lung, Direct To Lung, Pods, Mechs, Rebuild-able tanks and atomisers etc, and have experience with many many devices and atomisers, it's become a hobby and enjoy trying out the latest gear. I like to think my reviews are plain speaking and informative without getting too technical, if I have to resort to reading the manual then I don't consider it user friendly!
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